"Ugh!" Mu Chen couldn't help but frown. He was covered in reddish black mud that reeked of blood and made his skin itch.

After cutting through the stone for several days, Mu Chen finally carved a tunnel through the giant rock and exposed the underground space. Using a vine as a rope, Mu Chen lowered himself down the shaft. On his way down, he almost impaled himself on a giant spike protruding from the ground. Fortunately, he was careful and agile and managed to dodge it by a hair's breadth, going so far as using the spike as a slide to reach the bottom of the pit. But although he saved his life, he couldn't avoid the mush that was covering the ground.

Mu Chen took out a bright pearl from his ring and raised it. Under its light, the surroundings became clearer. He looked around and was shocked.

Hundreds of crisscrossed spikes towered to the sky. On them were skewered the carcasses of innumerable monster beasts. They should have been dead for a long time given they had been reduced to dried skin bags.

"Then… this is?" Mu Chen looked at the carcasses and then looked down. He lifted his leg and the mud dripped down his shoe. Resisting the urge to vomit, Mu Chen covered his nose and spread his sword sense to scan the area.

The spikes were made of wood, but they were tough as steel and the tips were extremely sharp. Their size and number were staggering.

Mu Chen came to the edge of the pit. The surface of the wall was very hard yet smooth and slippery.

Everything about the pit and the spikes indicated that it wasn't a product of nature.

"Was this place some hunting ground?" Mu Chen looked at those spikes and fell into thought. Lure the beasts and let them fall to their death. Even if a beast survived it would find it impossible to crawl out.

A simple but effective strategy.

This seemed to be the most plausible explanation. If not for Mu Chen being human and small enough to slip through the gaps between the spikes, he would have met the same fate as those beasts.

But when he looked at the carcasses of the several beasts, Mu Chen frowned. If it was a hunting ground, why were the carcasses still hanging on? Even if the hunting ground was later abandoned, there was no reason to leave the corpses behind? The biggest question was, who built this hunting ground?

Mu Chen couldn't help but frown. He had gone through the information in the booklet, but it didn't mention anything about natives living inside the realm. But the existence of such a place meant that either indigenous people were living in this realm, or some cultivators from outside had already discovered this realm. Either situation was unfavorable for him.

Tracing the circumference of the wall, Mu Chen began to walk while using his sword sense to explore. When he had covered almost half the periphery, he stopped. Where he stood, the section of the wall was a bit different from the rest.

Mu Chen slashed his sword at the wall. A couple of strikes and the wall crumbled into pieces, exposing a hidden stairway. Mu Chen walked to the edge of the stairway and looked down. The stairs spiraled deeper into the ground. As for where they led, there was only one way to find out.

Mu Chen dropped the bright pearl in his hand. It rolled down the flight of stairs, bouncing on the steps. Mu Chen followed it and made his way downstairs.

When he reached the bottom of the stairway, he came in front of a tunnel. The end of the tunnel was shrouded in darkness. The light from the bright pearl wasn't intense enough to illuminate the entire tunnel, much less its end. Mu Chen thought about it and kicked the bright pearl. It flew straight into the tunnel, illuminating it on its way. Mu Chen narrowed his eyes, not missing any details. The bright pearl rolled on the ground and came to a stop resting against a stone slab, illuminating a wider area.

Finding nothing amiss, Mu Chen walked through the tunnel and came into the chamber. He looked at the stone slab and was taken aback. The stone slab was not what he thought it was.

It was a sarcophagus.

"Someone is buried here?" Mu Chen found it unbelievable.

Although cultivators didn't believe in gods, they still followed a few traditions. When a cultivator died, they were usually buried. Some powerful cultivators could predict their time of death and chose to entomb themselves and pass away during meditation. Whereas, close relatives would raise a tablet in the deceased's name. If it was an ancestor, they might even build a shrine…

But he had never heard of someone being buried in such a manner. Unless his sense of direction had failed him, this sarcophagus was directly underneath the pit.

Mu Chen examined the chamber. It was circular and the walls were slanting. Grooves in the wall and the floor connected to the sarcophagus in the center of the chamber. To his disappointment, no treasures or items were lying around for him to collect.

The only thing worth interest was the stone coffin. Should he open it? Perhaps the treasures were inside, Mu Chen wondered.

"Forget it… it's not good to disturb the dead," Mu Chen sighed and shook his head. He saluted towards the coffin with cupped hands. Then he turned around and tiptoed towards the exit.

"Since you are already here, why not stay for a bit longer?" An old and tired voice echoed throughout the chamber.

Mu Chen who had just taken a few steps froze and broke into a cold sweat. He turned around and looked at the coffin—the voice had come from within it.

"S-senior... just now this junior was presumptuous and disrespectful, disturbing your rest." Mu Chen bowed towards the coffin with his hands cupped. "It was unintentional—I beg for Senior's forgiveness."

"Haha, are all kids these days so well-mannered?" the voice chuckled. It gave one the impression of an old man talking while stroking his beard.

"Senior, I can't speak for others, but my mother taught me well," Mu Chen straightened his back, with one of his feet inclining towards the exit. "She always says... it's your manners that build your character—"

Mu Chen vaulted towards the exit. But before he reached it, the chamber groaned into action and rotated like a turntable.

Thud! Instead of the exit, Mu Chen crashed into the wall with a bang.

"I said, why the rush?" The voice became a bit gloomy. "Do you take this old man's words as fart?"

Mu Chen stood up, rubbing his head. The entrance was now blocked. He took a deep breath and suppressed his beating heart. Looking at the sarcophagus, he said, "This junior doesn't dare to reject Senior's kind intentions. It's just that this junior is a bit short on time and has to report the task given by the elders."

The voice sighed, "This old man has been away from society for a long time. I just want to talk to someone. Is it too much to ask?"

"If Senior is lonely, he just needs to step out and grace the outside world with his presence. Why bother this little junior?" Mu Chen said.

"Hah… how could it be so easy?" the voice lamented.

"Senior's meaning?"

"If it was this old man's decision to stay here, how could he be reduced to this state?" the senior snorted.

"Senior was imprisoned against his will?" Mu Chen said with his eyes wide open.

"Aye. A long time ago, I fought against a villain to death. Unfortunately, my skills fell short and I was defeated. The villain coveted my cultivation technique, but since I was unwilling to share, the villain subjected me to lifelong imprisonment…" the old man bemoaned his bad luck. "In the past, I never shied away from secluded cultivation. But here, I can't cultivate… I can only face the eternal darkness in loneliness… Can you imagine the pain?"

"Senior can stay in this dark room for countless years—this junior is in awe of Senior's will and persistence," Mu Chen sighed. Staying immobilized inside a coffin without being able to contact the outside world was not something an average person could bear. If it was him, he didn't think he could do that—it was enough to drive one insane.

"You can understand this old man's pain, this one is relieved," the old man said in a pleased tone. "So how about you sit down and entertain this old man for a while?"

Mu Chen was reluctant but still sat several feet away from the sarcophagus. "What does the Senior wish to know?"

"This old man has had no news of the outside world since being imprisoned here…" The old senior asked Mu Chen about several things, to which he replied truthfully. From the questions the old man asked, Mu Chen was able to infer that he was from the outside world like them. In particular, the old man was very interested in news about the Central Continent. When Mu Chen told him that experts from the Central Continent were coming, he became agitated.

"What? You mean this realm's existence is exposed?" The senior's voice quivered like the flame of a candle exposed to a gust. "Tell me, w-who is coming? Which faction?"

"Senior, I only heard the news in passing, so I don't know the details, but… " Mu Chen could almost feel the anxiety of the opposite party. "I heard that everyone's coming."

"What?" the old man groaned in a hoarse tone. "I-it's over!"

"Senior?" Mu Chen didn't know what was wrong.

"Since the people from the Central Continent are coming, he must be among them too," the old man sighed.

"Who is Senior talking about?" Mu Chen asked.

"Who else, but that villain?" the old man sighed.

"The guy who trapped Senior here?" Mu Chen gulped.

The old man was silent. Mu Chen took it as acquiescence.

"Little Friend," the old man sighed, "it looks like my time has come… "

"Senior doesn't have to be so resigned," Mu Chen said. "Maybe that villain has already died or wouldn't he have come sooner?"

"Hehe… kid, you don't have to console me," the old man chuckled. "What storms I haven't weathered? Just... it's regrettable that my death will be in vain."

"Perhaps I can help Senior escape?" Mu Chen said.

"Can a little guy like you break the arrangement of that villain?" the old man sighed. "Even I had to study it for several decades, and am only able to operate the peripheral constructs."

"Then how about Senior letting me go?" Mu Chen said, "I can call the Elders, they should be able to help Senior escape. If Senior is willing, he can even stay as a guest in our Family until he recovers."

"If it was a few years earlier, I would've agreed," the old man said. "Alas, I have already reached the end of the road. Even if that villain doesn't come, it's only a matter of a few years before I die…"

Mu Chen shook his head. This old man had given up on life, so he no longer tried to persuade him. "Since Senior has made up his mind, it's inappropriate for me to say more. I would like to request Senior's permission and take my leave."

Mu Chen stood up and bowed towards the coffin, then walked to the blocked passageway. When the passageway didn't open, he looked at the coffin. "Senior?"

The old man sighed, "Although this old man is dying, he doesn't want to be lonely… "

Hearing the senior's words, Mu Chen's heart dropped. Did this guy go senile due to years of imprisonment? Don't tell me this guy was planning to keep him here till his death? Mu Chen looked at the coffin with a stiff smile. "Senior… then what about me?"

"Hehe, just keep this old man company," the old man chuckled.

Fuck! Mu Chen cursed and looked at the coffin with an aggrieved expression. "Senior must be joking. This junior has no cultivation. How can I wait to see Senior off?"

"And whose fault is that?" the old man sneered. "If not for you waking me up, I would've passed away quietly in my sleep. Since you woke me up, you have to bear the responsibility… "

Mu Chen's face twitched. He had been polite because he didn't want to provoke the old man. His intuition told him that the old man must be an expert above the Heaven Opening realm because he didn't feel the probing of divine sense at all. Although the old man claimed he had been imprisoned, who knew if he had any tricks up his sleeve. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, the old man still held a grudge.

"Senior, do you have to do this?" Mu Chen was furious but controlled his anger. After all, he was not a dead end. Given enough time he could always bore a hole through the chamber. So when he talked, he was still polite. "It was this junior mistake, but this junior has already asked for Senior's forgiveness. Senior should be magnanimous and have the demeanor of a true expert."

"Hmph!" the old man snorted. "You dare teach this old man how to behave? Are you tired of living?"

"Junior didn't mean this," Mu Chen said. "It's just that junior must leave this place and cannot dawdle here anymore. So I request Senior to open the door."

"What if I don't let you go?" the old man teased.

"Although this junior is weak… I can only affront Senior," Mu Chen said and his eyes became determined. He gripped his sword and prepared to draw it.

The old man kept silent and Mu Chen also didn't say anything more. The atmosphere became tense.

"Hahaha! Excellent. Good lad!" the old man exclaimed, "What a good seedling!" He sounded pleased.

"Senior?" Mu Chen looked at the coffin. He was a bit confused but didn't lower his guard.

"Hehe, little friend doesn't have to panic," the old man said. "This old man was just testing your character."

"This was a test?" Mu Chen was surprised.

The old man sighed. "Although this old man is at death's door, he doesn't have any progeny. I'm destined to die here, but I hope my legacy can live on… " the old man paused. "Little friend, I see you're still so young, yet you are calm and collected, with such good control over your emotions. You're smart but not overconfident—you value your life over whimsical gains. It's rare to find such a combination… Do you wish to receive this old man's legacy?"

Mu Chen was shocked. "Senior, you want to pass on his legacy to me?" If he could get the expert's inheritance, it wouldn't be a bad harvest. There was only one problem. Mu Chen sighed and his expression turned sad, "But I can't cultivate."

"No worries," the old man said. "Although your spirit root is damaged, there is no lack of remedies. This old man happens to have one such recipe to restore dantian and spirit root… so how about it?"

"If Senior can help this lowly junior heal his wounds, this junior will never forget Senior's grace," Mu Chen said and bowed several times.

"No need to be so polite," the old man said. "It is fate that brought you to me, I am just following its arrangement."

"What should I do?" Mu Chen asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Just come closer… a bit closer. Place your hand on the coffin."